Even today, after having been productively
employed for most of my adult life,
when I indicate my major in college
as communications, I get raised eyebrows,
peculiar looks and even plain and simple
bewilderment. On such occasions, I feel
the need to holler out that a communications
major is not that rare a species. Scores
of colleges and universities produce
thousands of communications majors each
year. And I happen to be one such animal.
But enough is enough and I have taken
it upon myself to educate one and
all about who a Communications major
really is! So what does a Communications
Major do anyways? Simply put, she/he
communicates. And effectively at that!
You might wonder what is so special
about communicating, as it is something
that all of us do in our everyday
lives. But chatting with your friend
over the telephone of discussing something
in class is an altogether different
matter than communicating to the shareholders
of a company, writing informational
articles for newspaper readers and
disseminating policies made by organizations
and governments.
Communications majors are professionals
who have undergone a course of study
that enables them to communicate across
a wide range of situations. Your neighborhood
newspaper reporter is most likely
a communications major. As is the
public relations manager of a large,
multi-national corporate. Even that
beatnik documentary film-maker you
know is in all probability a communications
major. Communications majors are gainfully
employed in all major and minor organizations
all over the world.
What does a communications major
learn? Well, the answer depends on
the course of study undertaken at
college. Most communications majors
study under what is commonly known
as Mass Communications. This can be
either a graduate or an undergraduate
degree. Mass communications entails
learning all about the various aspects
of communicating through mass media.
Specializations could range from print
journalism through advertising copywriting
to web content development and even
television production. Public relations
is another area of specialization.
And increasingly, government bodies,
healthcare institutions and even charitable
organizations use communications majors
to fulfill certain communication needs.
Strictly speaking even film-making
comes under the purview of a communications
major’s course of study.
But there’s an altogether different
kind of communications major. This
is a communications major who has
undergone an information technology
course. These communication majors
generally work in the information
technology fields, especially pertaining
to satellite development and deployment,
cellular phone companies, traditional
communications service providers like
telecommunications companies, defense
related organizations and even people
who work behind-the-scenes to ensure
that the e-mail you send out reaches
the intended recipient! Their job
of such communications majors is to
ensure that the systems and processes
that facilitate communication between
individuals, machines and computers
are in place and are functioning effectively.
So, as you can see, there are a whole
range of communications majors out
there. And they are the people who
ensure that when you are able to communicate
effectively in your everyday life.
Whether it is through the phone, through
a fax machine, a cellular phone or
even e-mail.
